Filed to story: Mia Bowen and Timothy Barrett Novel
Despite his unnatural reaction, his tone remained steely. “Why? Now that you find out that he’s not rich, are you trying to abandon him and-“
A cough cut him off.
Mia tightened his tie around his neck, and she looked at him with dark eyes. “Then, what are you doing here, Mr. Barrett?
“Seeing how much you care for me makes me think that you might have lingering feelings for me.”
He coughed. “Let go of me!”
He couldn’t believe that she had the guts to hurt him.
Chapter 142
Only then did Mia release Timothy. She fixed his tie gently, so gently that it didn’t feel real to him.
It reminded him of the past when she helped him with his tie and took care of his meals and well-being.
Something wavered in his eyes as he forgot about how she strangled him just a moment ago.
At that moment, the door was opened, and Liam walked out of the room. “Mia.”
An alarm went off in his head when he realized that Mia was with Timothy.
He took huge strides to disengage them by standing between them.
Timothy’s face fell. A slightly nervous Mia gazed at Liam. “How did it go?”
“I paid the money. They’ll bring the necklace over to us later. Let’s go.”
“Okay.” She nodded and didn’t spare Timothy a single glance.
But she could feel his piercing face.
Liam eyed Timothy. “Make way, please. Don’t you think that you’re getting in the way?”
Pursing his lips, Timothy didn’t move an inch.
Mia held Liam’s arm. “Let’s go this way.”
“Okay. Your wish is my command.” Liam looked at her with a warm smile.
…
“Mia, why don’t we get a bracelet too? It’ll be a matching set with the necklace!”
“Oh, how about getting new clothes and bags to match that necklace? We can head to the mall later.”
…
Timothy watched the duo leave as his brows furrowed.
Finally, he loosened his tie again before looking at Heath. “Do women generally prefer men who are good at sweet nothings?”
Heath was silent for a moment. “Men who know how to make them feel better are indeed more popular. Women like to be pampered.”
Timothy sighed in disdain. He trod toward the auction venue, his face all gloomy.
Maya walked to his side. “Timothy, where have you been? Ms. Bowen’s boyfriend bought that necklace.”
He was watching Liam help Mia wear the necklace from behind her.
Her smile was such an eyesore for Timothy to take in.
A grin beamed across Maya’s face. “Looks like Liam is serious about Ms. Bowen.”
Shelly huffed, “Someone like her wants to be Mrs. Lane? In her dreams! Ms. Lane, are your family going to attend your engagement ceremony? Does that mean your cousin is going to attend with Mia?”
Maya went stiff. “I-I’m not sure about that.”
That was because she couldn’t invite the three men to her engagement.
All these years, they had never acknowledged her status as Mrs. Lane.
Of course, she would take that fact to her grave.
Shelly turned to Timothy. “Timothy, the engagement ceremony is going to be this weekend. Why not cut down the number of guests? Mia might come over to ruin the occasion.”
Maya heaved a sigh of relief. Shelly made herself useful at times despite her stupidity.
Anticipation glowed in Maya’s eyes, which zeroed in on him.
He returned her a cold gaze instead. “When will Connor have time?”
She froze, barely making a feeble explanation. “I-I’m discussing it with him about it. He’s busy these days.”
“I see. There’s no need for that. Let’s call off the engagement.”
Chapter 143
Timothy dropped the bombshell and left.
Maya’s face fell. She followed him in haste. “Timothy, hear me out! Connor has agreed to perform the surgery. He just doesn’t have the time!
“We’ve also decided on the date for our engagement ceremony. If you call it off, he’ll misunderstand the situation again!”
He looked down at her icily. “Maya Lane, the engagement was only a deal to begin with. It’s not real. I hope you can keep that in mind.”
“I know.” She could barely keep a calm expression at his words.
“Very well. Since Connor isn’t sincere about doing the surgery, I think there’s no need to continue with the deal. It’s over now.” He flung her hand away and walked away ever so indifferently.
Maya stood over there with red eyes. She had worked so hard for it, but her effort went down the drain!
Shelly came over. “Don’t cry, Ms. Lane.”
“Shelly, Timothy actually has feelings for Mia. He said he wanted to call off the engagement!”
“What? How could he fall for a gold-digger? There has to be a misunderstanding. Don’t worry, Ms. Lane. I’ll teach her a lesson in your stead. I’ll make sure she stays out of our sight, including Timothy’s!”
Maya hung her head low. Sorrow descended upon her features, but there was something more in her gaze.
Something dark…
…
Mia and Liam were on their way home from the auction.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she removed the necklace. “Liam, this is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”
It was a necklace worth 12 million dollars!
“It’s fine, just accept it. That actor is swimming in cash anyway. Even if they release an article about it, they’ll claim that he donated 12 million dollars for charity,” he responded nonchalantly.
“Will he do something when he finds out that you took the necklace?”
“No. We’re close. It’s just a necklace. It’s no big deal.”
Mia sensed that something was off, but she couldn’t put a finger on it.
Once she arrived home, she didn’t know where to put that expensive necklace. There was no place to keep it that would give her peace of mind.
Meanwhile, Liam lay on the couch in the living room, texting in “One Big Happy Family”.
“Spent 12 million today to buy Mia a diamond necklace.”
“How can a necklace from that auction be worth that much?” Dominic was doubting it.
Liam recounted his battle with Timothy.
Connor joined in. “Great job! Serve that divorced Barrett guy right for having his eyes on Mia! We should nip his intention in the bud.”
Dominic gave a thumbs up. “Agreed.”
On the other side, Eva looked at Dominic. “That divorced Barrett guy … Are you guys referring to the man who likes Mia? That last name sounds familiar.”
“Yeah, it’s him.” His phone rang. It was Maya calling.
Eva took a glimpse at it. “Answer it. It must be about Timothy.”
He let out a cough before picking it up. “Hello?”
“Dominic, did you and Eva ate yet?”
“Yeah. What’s the matter?”